Miraculously Short
by cerulleen
Summary: A collection of one-shots based off of the show Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir.
1. Stolen Jewelry: Adrienette

**AFTER A LONG DAY** at work, Marinette rushed to her parent's house in alarm. She had just gotten a call from her mother, who sounded extremely distressed. Unlocking the front door of the apartment, she barged into the room, only to find her mother in tears over a jewelry box.

Her mother looked up. "Oh, Marinette! It's not here! I can't find it!" she cried.

A slightly ticked off Marinette looked down at her mother in confusion. "Can't find _what_ , Maman?"

Her mom sniffled. "Nadia's jewelry! I placed it in here, but now it's...it's just- _gone_!"

Marinette kneeled next to her mother. "Are you sure this is where you last put it?" she asked gently.

Her mother nodded ferociously. "Someone must've stolen it!" she exclaimed, clutching the empty box.

Marinette thought back to the last time she had visited her parents, and something came to her that made her narrow her eyes. "I think I may know who stole it," she grumbled.

ML

Adrien sneaked into the jewelry store, pausing to look behind him every now and then. Sighing in relief when he saw no one, he rushed to the counter where a man was eyeing him. "Would you like to buy something, young man?" the man asked. "Perhaps a nice necklace for the one you love?"

Adrien shook his head. "No, actually." He looked around. "Um...do you buy jewelry?"

The man narrowed his eyes. "If it is genuine and rare," he stated.

Adrien gulped and slowly took a black bag out of his coat. That's when his phone rang. His fingers stumbled with the bag, caught it, and took out his phone. "Yes-"

"ADRIEN AGRESTE!" Marinette shouted into the phone. "You don't happen to be at the jewelry store, do you?"

Adrien's eyes widened as he glanced at the man, who raised his eyebrows in annoyance. "What? No! What made you think that?" he squeaked.

"Possibly the fact that your voice just cracked, and that you were coming out of my parent's room the other day with a bulging jacket," Marinette said flatly. "Don't sell the jewelry, Agreste."

"For the last time, I'm _not at the_ -"

"Think about it- I'm, what, three blocks away? I'll get to the jewelers in time to catch you. If you want to live, _don't sell the jewelry_."

Adrien swallowed and looked back at the jeweler who was now full on glaring at him. "You know, I actually just remembered that I have somewhere important to be." He turned around-

-only to be dragged out of the store by his ear.

"Owww, Marinette," he whined.

"Tu est un chien! J'ai ne sais pas l'heure de faîre face à votre merde!"

ML

Adrien stood with a guilty look on his face next to La Seine. Marinette's back was to him as she glared at the Eiffel Tower. They hadn't said a word to each other since she had forcefully removed him from that store.

He hesitated, then stepped forward. "Heeey, honey." He waited. No response. "Wife. Princess. Bugaboo. Person that I married. Significant othe-"

"Adrien?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

He looked at the ground. Marinette huffed. "Do you know how much Nadia loves that jewelry? Do you know how upset she would get if she found out my mother 'lost' it?"

"I-"

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP, ADRIEN!" she burst, and Adrien winced. He knew she wasn't truly angry, but he didn't want to push her.

Marinette started pacing around. "You know, I do _everything_ around the house! Everything!" Even as those words came out of her mouth, she knew it wasn't true. Adrien was an amazing husband. Sure, they fought sometimes, but it was about silly things, like what to eat for dinner. She was just really angry and wanted to make him feel bad. She smirked to herself when she saw that he had shrunk. "You should just _die_."

She knew he knew she was joking.

Adrien jolted. "Okay, then, I'll go die now!" He started edging towards the river. "Yeah! I'll go jump in this lake! I'll die, yup! Bye, Marinette! Wife! I love you!" Marinette crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "You're not going to stop me?"

"No."

Adrien spluttered, "Fine! I, uh, am going to drown! Yeah! And you will never see me again! Tell our children I love them!"

The idiot jumped into the water.

Marinette attempted to keep a straight face as Adrien pretended to drown. "Ah! My feet aren't touching the bottom! I'm going to die! It's so cold!" He started fake coughing on the water and moved around so it looked like he was suffocating. "Help me, Marinette! Ahh!"

Marinette just stood there. "I'm about to die! Bye, Emma! Bye, Hugo! Bye, Louis! I love you all! You too, Princess!"

Marinette walked up to him, causing Adrien to think he was going to be forgiven. Instead, she said, "You may be a model, but you can't act for your life." She whirled around and started walking to the parking lot.

Adrien stopped pretending to drown when she got into the car. He stood up in the two feet deep water and walked out of the river, soaking wet. Marinette started the engine, and his eyes widened. "Wait! Wait for me! I'm sorry! I won't do it again!" She started to drive. "MARINETTTEEEE! COME BACK HERE!" He ran down the busy Parisian street, chasing after the car.

Let's just say that he was on a lot of social media platforms that night.

ML

 _This is based off of a KDrama and will be explained in the beginning of the next chapter._


	2. Co-Workers Part 1: Adrienette

_Hey guys! I'm here with a new one-shot. I just wanted to say something really quick regarding the first (and this) one._

 _So I first started posting these on Wattpad, where I had an intro, long author's notes, etc. So when I came here, I deleted them, because I figured long author's notes aren't encouraged...anyways, the previous one-shot is based off of some KDrama I saw somewhere. I do not watch KDrama- I saw the show in passing, so sadly I have no idea what it's called. Please leave a review if you know!_

 _Anyway, that's why some of you may have been confused and wondering why on EARTH Adrien would steal his mother-in-law's jewelry. Hope that explained it! (There may or may not be a second part.)_ _(Thank you @small-myth for pointing this out!)_

 _This one-shot is based off of the same KDrama as well. Enjoy!_

ML

 **MARINETTE DECIDED THAT** she hated everything about Christmas. Especially those stupid damn Santa hats.

"No! Ugh- cut...CUT!" she shouted at everyone on set. "You all look miserable! Lighten up!" The models were all suited up in Christmas themes clothes- hence the name of the segment, _Christmas in July._

Christmas was supposed to be a joyful holiday, but the models looked plain pissed. Many of them were sweating bullets and glaring at the camera instead of smiling.

Her annoying co-worker and childhood enemy, Adrien, leaned in with a smirk. "My idea would've been better," he stated sassily.

Marinette turned around and glared at him. "Shut up," she hissed. God, she hated him! Ever since they were young, they were always at each other's throats. Now that they were older, his new goal was to try and get her fired.

He shrugged. "Just stating the truth." He leaned against the chair she was sitting on, so she shoved him off. He raised his arms in a surrendering position. "Geez, princess, no need to be so violent! We haven't even gone out on a date yet." Marinette growled and stormed away.

Alya—a reporter and a close friend of hers—shook her head when Marinette barged into the makeup room. She was helping Juleka, the makeup artist, apply makeup to one of the models that's sweat had washed off some of the makeup. "Trouble in paradise?" the brunette questioned with a smile.

Marinette snorted. "HA! Paradise, right. Quite the opposite, really." She picked up one of the makeup brushes and twirled it with her fingers, much to Juleka's dismay. "Do you happen to have any spare tickets out of Hell?"

Amused, Alya shook her head. "Nope, sorry. I used them all up when Lila decided to visit the set." Lila was part of the company and was always hitting on Adrien. Alya laughed when Marinette's lip curled at the mention of (one of) the Devil(s). "I know, girl, that was my reaction too."

Marinette sighed when she heard Adrien yell "CUT!" in the background. "Better get back to my job, Alya," she grumbled. "Don't want that idiot to steal it away from me." Alya saluted and went back to helping Juleka with the annoyed model's makeup.

Rushing back to set, she found that a few things had changed. First of all, the girls were out of their dresses and in some very revealing bathing suits. The boys had taken off their shirts and were in- were those fuzzy swim trunks?

She stomped over to a very smug looking son of a chienne. "ADRIEN!" she hollered. "What the MERDE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Adrien feigned an innocent look. "Oh, nothing. I just, you know, since your idea wasn't working, decided to go with... _my idea."_ Marinette was pretty sure there was smoke coming from out of her ears.

"We. Are. _Partners,"_ she snapped with ferocity. "That means that we work together. And that we are supposed to _agree_ on things before they actually _happen_. One of us just can't- can't decide to go with something because we _want_ to!"

Adrien shrugged like he had no care in the world. "Well, the models seem to be enjoying themselves more." Marinette hated to admit it, but he was right. They were laughing and shooting each other with water guns (where the heck did Adrien get water guns?). "Plus, the world likes pretty people. Flashy skin. This'll be a hit." He strolled away to shout some commands at the models.

Marinette thought her day couldn't get any worse. But of course, she was wrong. Because Lila decided to make another appearance despite the fact that Alya had probably cursed her away earlier. "Oh, Adriennn!" she trilled. She strutted up to him with a fake-(gr)ass smile on her face and tapped his shoulder.

Adrien turned around. "Oh, hi Lila." Was it Marinette's imagination, or was there a tinge of bitterness in his voice? She decided to sit down in her (READ: Adrien's) chair and watch the show.

"Soo..." Lila bit her lip in a way that she probably thought was seductive, "Do you want to go get dinner after the shoot? I'm free until... _tomorrow."_

Much to Marinette's surprise, Adrien said smoothly, "Sorry, I have plans."

Lila didn't take hint. "Oh, okay. Tomorrow night, then?"

"Nope. Busy."

Lila's expression flickered a bit. "I know you want me, Agreste."

There was no show of emotion in Adrien's face. "Then you're sorely mistaken." He glanced at the models, who were now looking at them with curiosity. "I have to get back to work. Why don't you go ask Nathanaël out?"

Lila glanced at the smol tomato head in the corner of the room, who was shaking his head vigorously just a moment before. "But I wa-" Adrien was already back to work, talking to one of the head digital artists, Nino. Marinette could see that Nino held a tiny smirk on his face.

Lila spun around and started stomping away. Except she was wearing high heels, so the tip of one of them broke, and she fell on one of her knees. Standing up quickly, she glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. Sadly, only Marinette had. She bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Lila narrowed her eyes and walked up to her. "Listen," she seethed. "If you think you can get Adrien, you're wrong. He's never been in any type of relationship before, and you know what they say, they always pick the beautiful ones first."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "I don't want him- plus, no one says that. Even if that was true, he would never go for you. You're too self-centered."

Lila started to shake with fury. "Whatever," she said in an attempt at being dismissive. "You're _much_ worse." Lila smirked when Marinette flinched a little. She started circling her like a shark. "Too... _clingy_. Not even _average_ looking." She laughed menacingly. "In fact, you're uglier than this ugly looking cat I saw this morning. Gosh, it's hideous green eyes are still stuck in my head. And that black fur!" She made a face of disgust, then sighed. "But I guess looking ugly is just in a cat's nature. Just like it is for _you_." Giggling at Marinette's tense face, she walked away. However, she didn't notice Marinette's foot in the way. B*ITCH!" she screamed as she fell. She spat out the gum she was chewing on Marinette.

Adrien, who was talking to smol tomato about the backdrop design, suddenly appeared in front of her. "Do not call her that," he spat, eyes so sharp they could've cut her up. "Especially when you're the one who's the b*tch." Lila's eyes widened.

"But Adri-"

"Leave. Go. I don't want to see you on this set." Lila turned around, angry and embarrassed. She muttered something under her breath, glaring in Marinette's direction. Then she tripped once more on her unnecessarily high heels before blasting out of the room.

Marinette looked in her direction to make sure she was gone when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up into a pair of soft green eyes. "Come on, I'll help you get that gum out of your hair." He guided her away and out of the studio under many watchful eyes. Marinette was almost positive she saw Alya and Nino wink at her.

ML

Once the door closed behind them, Marinette immediately removed Adrien's hand. "What was that?" she asked in a way that wasn't harsh nor kind. "Why weren't you flirting with her? Why didn't you agree to go out with her? Why did you defend me? Why are you-" she breathed. "Why are you being so nice?"

Adrien pretended to ignore her by looking at the ground. "I know where there's some peanut butter-"

"I don't care about the gum in my hair, Agreste."

Adrien's gaze was still positioned on the ground. Marinette was about to walk away in frustration when he spoke. "Do you remember first grade?"

She blinked. "What?"

"First grade. You were the only person I knew. You let me borrow your crayons."

Marinette's mouth opened. "How do you re-"

His gaze snapped to hers. "I loved you, Marinette."


	3. See Me Now?: Adrienette

_This fanfiction is based on a popular piece of ML Art (the "Do You See Me Now?" one). There are probably many fan fictions based on this picture, so I am sorry if you've already read ones like this. I do not own the work of art this story is based on, and give full credit to the artist. Sadly, I do not know who the artist is because it has been republished many times. If anyone does know, feel free to comment!_

ML

 _age six_

 **"MARINETTE! MARINETTE!"** a young boy calls out, rushing up to a young girl with brilliant blue eyes. "I'm back!"

Marinette perks up. "Adrien!" she squeals, squeezing him in a hug. "How was the shoot? How was _New York City?"_ The young designer's eyes light up at the thought of the city of fashion.

Adrien shrugs modestly. "Ah, it was okay. And New York was the same as ever."

Marinette can't help but feel a bit jealous of the child model. How many kids in Paris can say that New York City was the "same as ever"?

She tries to lighten her mood by teasing her best friend. "Well, you haven't changed much! I'm still way taller than you!" she sticks her tongue out.

Adrien scrunches his nose and goes on his tippy toes. "Now I'm your height!" he beams.

Marinette laughs and shakes her head. "Doesn't count!" She copies him. "You'll _never_ be taller than _me!"_

He slumps, looking up at the beautiful girl. He can't help but feel a little starry-eyes while staring into her beautiful eyes. "Marry me," he whispers breathily.

Marinette looks surprised. "Um...what did you say?" She flushes slightly.

Realising that he accidentally voiced his thoughts, he tenses and blurts out, "Ah! I mean, uh...if I grow taller. Will you marry me?"

Marinette's eyes widen at his proposal. Then she smirks. "Sure," she says calmly. Inside, butterflies are running laps like crazy. She has to admit that she has a bit of a crush on him.

Adrien's insides seem to be doing exactly the same. "Wait, really?" he grins widely. "So if I grow taller than you like-" he goes on his tippy toes again and lifts his hand up above her head, "-this, you'll marry me right?"

Marinette bites her lip to keep from smiling and crosses her arms. "How 'bout we see if the time actually comes, Shortie?" she says smugly.

Adrien's grin widens, and the butterflies in both of their stomachs do another lap.

ML

 _age twelve_

 **SHE HATES HIM**. Why does he have to be so gorgeous? Why does he have to be a model?

More importantly, why does he have to leave her?

She recalls last week, when Adrien broke the news to her. "I'm leaving," he said quietly. "Next week. New York City."

She never thought that she would hate New York City so much.

"Why?" she asked, trying to hide the desperation in her voice.

Adrien seemed to be holding back tears. "I- my father has a new office there. He wants to make sure everything there is running smoothly."

"Right." Marinette's voice cracked. "Well, have fun."

Then she ran.

And left a broken-hearted boy behind.

ML

 _age 17_

 **"MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG,** don't make me dump this pitcher of ice cold water over your head!" 

Marinette jumps up. "I'm up, I'm up! Geez, Alya, no need to give me hypothermia."

Alya Césaire, her best friend since fourteen, rolls her eyes. "Marinette, a pitcher of cold water isn't going to give you hypothermia."

"Whatever," grumbles Marinette. She eyes the red-head curiously. "Anyways, what are you doing here?"

Alya's eyes light up. "Okay, so you know that really popular clothing brand?" she questions. "What am I saying, of course you do, you're a designer! No _duh_ you know this brand-"

"Alya!" Marinette laughs. "Stop, you sound like me. What clothing brand?"

Alya grins, Marinette-style. "Oh! Gabriel Agreste, sorry." Marinette feels her heart drop. "So, there's this fashion show going on tonight underneath the Eiffel Tower, and I thought that maybe we could-"

"No," Marinette says quickly.

Alya glares at her. "Will you stop cutting me off, girl? Geez!" She looks at her with a pointed stare. "And anyways, I already bought the tickets, so we're going!"

Marinette makes a sound of indignation. "Then why did you ask if you already bought the tickets?" she whines. "Just bring Nino!"

Alya sighs in exasperation. "He already _has_ a ticket, Marinette. Come on, what's so bad about a fashion show? You love them!" She nudges Marinette with her finger. "It starts at 18:00. Because you somehow managed to stay asleep until I woke you up at _twelve_ , that's in six hours. I expect to see you ready to be pampered in four."

"Fine," Mariette groans, but Alya is already out the door.

ML

Four hours later, Alya is back at her house, destroying her closet.

"Come on, girl! You're a _fashion designer_ , for Christ's sake! You should be able to pick out a simple evening outfit." Alya takes a few more clothes out of her closet, inspects them, then throws them on the ground.

Marinette lays sprawled on her chaise. "I seem to have lost all of my knowledge on fashion," she mumbles. Alya sighs, then grabs her arm and attempts to drag her across the floor to her disastrous mess of clothes.

"Geez, girl, what did you eat today?" Alya groans. She tries one more time to pull her arm, but fails.

"Exactly. I'm too fat to fit into any of my evening clothes."

Rolling her eyes, Alya points out, "I didn't say you were fat." She throws an eye-scratching outfit at her. "Pick out an outfit or you're wearing this."

Since the outfit is an utter disgrace to the fashion industry, Marinette grudgingly picks out an eye-catching outfit that will make any fashion designer drop to the ground and beg her to intern for her.

Which, to be honest, is kind of what she's going for.

When she comes out the bathroom, Alya's mouth drops. "Woah, girl, you're gonna steal the spotlight away from the models!" she laughs. "Now, let's go! We're gonna be late!"

They meet Nino at the Eiffel Tower. He's decked out in a casual yet elegant suit. He grins at the sight of his girlfriend. "Beautiful." He pecks a blushing Alya on the lips.

"Not too bad looking yourself," she beams. The lights on the set up stage start to flash, and Alya says, "Oh, it's about to start!"

They rush to their seats, and a voice projects into the audience. "Hello, and welcome to the Gabriel Agreste: Spring Collection fashion show. The show will begin immediately after this announcement, so please refrain from taking flash photography unless given written permission from the Agreste company. Please silence all devices, and enjoy the show." Alya squeals next to Marinette, and she can't help feeling a bit excited herself.

The first model comes out, dressed in a simple, clean-cut vest and flowy pants. Marinette's eyes are glued to her as she clicks in her high heels across the runway. _I should've brought my notebook_ , she thought.

Engrossed in her thoughts, she doesn't notice Alya's star-struck gaze until she feels as if her arm is about to fall off. "Geez, Alya, what is it? Stop squeezing my arm!"

"He's so hot!" the girl exclaims.

Nino looks at her flatly. "Remember that you have a boyfriend."

Alya shoos him away. "Not for me, he's waaay too out of my league. He's _super_ hot though." It seems as if all of the girls in the audience agree, as they're all swooning.

Rolling her eyes, she looks at the model on the stage. _He can't possibly be that hot, can he?_ She smiles at the stage, and-

She freezes.

And watches as her childhood best friend walks down the runway and smirks at the cameras, runs a hand through his golden hair, and shows off his outfit.

Holy. Sh*t.

He smiles at the audience—but she can tell it's not really _real_ —and scans the crowd, not expecting to see anyone in particular. He locks eyes with her.

The world stops. Blue met green. Water crashes against land. Eyes widen. He stops for a second on stage, something she's sure his dad will criticise him for after the show.

Then, the most breathtaking smile breaks out on his face. He blushes slightly, and winks in her direction.

He walks back to the backdrop, and disappears. Forgetting that she's with her best friend and her best friend's boyfriend for a second, she sinks in her chair, clutching her heart.

"What the _hell_ was that?"

Her head snaps up to find Nino and Alya looking at her like she's grown a second head. She gulps. "Um, nothing."

Nino snickers. "It sure didn't look like nothing."

The show ends a few minutes later, and the audience surges forward, eager to meet the models. "Hey, why don't we go?" Marinette suggests, tugging the couple's arms.

Alya shakes her head. "No _way_ are we leaving, we're-"

"Wow, you're beautiful."

Marinette stops. She turns around slowly. "Hey, Adrien," she swallows. His gorgeous eyes are wide and glowing.

"I mean, you were always beautiful, it's just that- well, um..." he stammers. "Sorry, uh..."

"You grew."

Adrien seems to forget his state a moment before, and the corner of his mouth quirks up. He goes closer to her. Raising his hand slightly above her head, he says softly, "Do you see me now?"

 _He remembers._

"I- um..." she stutters, the roles reversed. "Uh...does that mean we're getting married?"

 _Way to go, Marinette._

Adrien's smile spreads. His lips graze her ear. "Of course, Princess." Then, he leans back a little, and his lips brush against hers. Her eyes widen. Then she sighs, and presses against him, wrapping her hands in his hair. "I love you," he whispers against her lips.

She smiles against him. "I love you too, Shortie."

"HOLD IT, WTF MARINETTE YOU'RE SEVENTEEN I CAN NOT ALLOW THIS-"

"Shut up Nino and let them have their moment."


	4. Ankles: Adrienette

_I write a lot of Adrienette for some reason even though Marichat's my favourite ship. Sorry about that. I'll try to mix it up a little._

 _This is not based off of Cinderella, though it seems similar (there may be one in the future ;)). And just a note, this takes place in the nineteenth century. But I'm not making them talk the way they did in the 1800s._

ML

 **LIVING IN THE NINETEENTH** century was horrible. Especially for women.

"Long dresses are so stupid," Marinette mumbled as she tugged at the hem of her dress. "Remind me again why I need to wear this monstrosity?" She tripped once again on her dress.

Alya giggled. "Because you don't want to get married to some gross old man, girl!"

Said girl sighed. "Right." She looked in disgust at the ugly colour. "Least we could do is design our own dresses legally!" The shade of swamp green was a really unflattering look on her.

"Like I said earlier, we _can't_ because we don't want to get married to some gross old man. Floor length dresses are a must, because-"

"- _showing a lady's ankles is considered inappropriate, and any man who looks upon a lady's must marry her._ Yes, _I know_. We all have that imbedded in our brains by now," Marinette snapped in exasperation. She absolutely _hated_ that dreadful rule! Rumour was, it had been put in place because of the prince. The same prince who had also apparently slept with a slew of girls. She guessed the rule didn't apply to all of the girls _he_ met.

That _jerk_. If she ever met him, she was going to punch him in his disgusting face. Speaking of...

"Come on, we've gotta get to the market, girl! I hear the King is making an appearance, and you know what that means!" She winked at Marinette.

"...that all of the prices will be lowered for a day just to impress him?" she guessed feebly, hopefully, knowing the real answer.

Alya rolled her eyes. "No! The _Prince_ , silly! I heard he's _hot_." She fake fanned herself while doing an exaggerated curtsy, then burst into laughter.

Marinette pursed her lips and shook her head. "Why don't you tell that to Nino?" she said smugly, trying to erase the sound of disgust from her voice. (Not because of Alya, because of the Prince.) Alya had recently announced her relationship with the local composer's apprentice.

Without an answer, the redhead shoved Marinette into the carriage.

ML

The Market was located in the center of the village. It was the place where everything happened, and was constantly busy and buzzing. However, that day it was noisier than usual.

"What's going on?" Marinette asked, referring to the cluster of girls giggling and twirling their hair.

Squinting her eyes, Alya said, "Looks like His Highness has arrived, along with the Heir." She pointed to a fancy-looking carriage with a series of intricately decorated golden vines. "Wanna go check him out?"

Already on the lookout for the fabrics stand, Marinette shook her head. "Nah, I want to get some new fabrics for a dress I'm designing. _Illegally_ ," she added, remembering the law put in place by the _His_ _Highness_ that was inhabiting the very same square that they were in.

Alya sighed. "Okay girl, but just be wary of who's around you. With the King here and all, you don't want to get caught."

Snorting, Marinette muttered, "What are they going to do, execute me for buying some fabric?" But she could see the worry in her best friend's eyes, so she promised to be careful and then rushed off.

Her eyes lit up at the sight of the beautiful fabrics. Sighing in delight, she felt the softness of a certain velvet she needed for her dress. The seller's son, who she'd gotten quite familiar with, smiled at the sight of the beautiful girl. "What're you looking for today, Marinette?" he asked, eyes sparkling. Alya suspected that the redhead had a crush on Marinette, but whenever the subject came up, the blackette always shooed away the idea with disbelief.

Marinette's head snapped up and she grinned. "Hey, Nath! What's up?" The boy flushed and opened his mouth to speak, when-

"-excuse me! Sorry, I'll fix that!" A hooded figure barged in between them, then cleared his throat. "Uh, sorry. Can I stay here for a second?" His hood was starting to edge off of his head, and Marinette could see some strands of golden hair. "Please?"

Nathanaël shook his head, disgruntled. "Uh...sure."

The boy winced. He seemed to be hiding from something, Marinette thought, as he ducked behind a stack of fabrics. After a few seconds, he sighed in relief and looked at the two gaping teenagers. "Er...sorry about that. I'll clean it up." In a second, the messed up fabrics were back to their normal state. The two friends watched as the hooded figure disappeared in the distance.

"Oh, no! The velvet!" The material that Marinette had been longing to buy was now covered with dirt, courtesy of the destructive boy who had hid behind the fabrics a moment before. "Sorry, Mari," Nathanaël said apologetically. "Looks like the fabric is ruined."

Marinette smiled comfortingly. "It's okay, Nath. It wasn't your fault- that guy ruined perfectly good fabric! If I see him again, I'll talk to him, alright?" After insisting to pay for the velvet, the girl fled the stand and left to explore the rest of the tables.

ML

"Sorry!" she heard someone yell, crashing into her. She tumbled to the ground, ruining her dress along with the necklace she was holding.

Mystery Boy lay sprawled on top of her. He smiled sheepishly. "Uh...sorry."

Marinette blurted the first thing that came to her mind. "You're not running from the law, are you?" She didn't want to associate herself with a criminal.

The boy's eyebrows raised. "No..." He smirked at her face, and she knew immediately he recognised her from the fabric stand. "But _you_ mine as well be, knowing that you can't design or make any article of clothing."

"How do you know I was going to make an article of clothing? I could've been buying the fabric to make a bag!" she said defensively. Realising that he was still on top of her, she said, "Can you get off?"

The boy shook his head, smirk still on his face. She glared at him and he sighed. "Fine." But just as she was about to get back on her feet, she was shoved down again. She would've hit her head hard if it weren't for the hand placed behind her head.

She opened her mouth to shout at him, but Mystery Boy gently covered her mouth with his hand and shook his head gently. This slight motion caused his hood to fall off, and Marinette swore, her eyes almost came out of their sockets.

He was _beautiful_.

His breathtaking green eyes were wide and sparkling as he looked into her cerulean ones, and his golden hair fell perfectly around his tan face. He was, by far, the most gorgeous boy she had ever—and would ever—seen.

One corner of his pink lips quirked upwards, and he tilted his head slightly. Her heart exploded, and she was positive he could hear it beat a million miles an hour. She vaguely heard footsteps and yelling, but she didn't connect that to the boy until she saw him sink in relief when the sounds faded in the distance.

He helped her up. "Sorry-" He cut off, then turned away, cheeks flushed. Clearing his throat, he avoided her eyes.

Marinette looked at him curiously. "What?" He glanced down, then bit his lip.

"Uh, my apologies, but I must go-" He disappeared, just like before.

And with horror, she felt her heart sink.

Minutes later, she heard her name. "Mari! Marinette! Geez, girl, where were you? I looked all over!" She tugged at her arm. "Come on, you won't believe this! The King is here..."

"...to pick a wife for his son!" a group of girls sighed elsewhere.

Marinette smiled weakly, not really giving a single damn about this jerkish Prince. "That's cool, Alya. But you can't go, because you've got a boyfriend."

Alya sighed. "Sometimes, I feel like you're playing with me." She tugged at her arm once more. " _You're_ entering, duh!"

Dread sunk in her stomach. But she _hated_ the prince! "No, really Alya, it's fine. I'll watch with you from afar." But the redhead was already forcing her into the crowd. "Alya, seriously! I'd rather settle down with a nice guy who understands me and-"

"Oh, come on. There's a lot of girls here, there's a big chance you won't get chosen! It'll be fun!" _How was giving away yourself to a jerk fun?_

The announcer on stage cleared his throat. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen- but mostly ladies." The boy on stage, who couldn't be older than Marinette, winked at the fidgeting girls in the crowd. She heard a number of them sigh.

Rolling her eyes, Marinette was ready to run out of square, but she was stopped by a line of soldiers. _What the hell?_

"Now, please welcome King Gabriel Agreste!" A roar went up through the crowd, most likely conjured because the majority of the citizens did not feel like getting executed.

On stage, a tall man stood with gray hair and a regal expression. He gazed upon the crowd and the causing the people to go silent. He seemed to scrutinise every single one of the potential princesses before giving a slight nod and turning to the announcer.

He whispered something in his ear, and the announcer grimaced. "Well, ladies, this is new, but the King would like...the prince to decide for himself!" He cleared his throat looking slightly confused. "Please welcome Prince Adrien to the stage!"

A boy entered the stage covered with a hood. The announcer continued. "The Prince wishes to keep his face hidden. He will reveal his face to the chosen lady after leaving the Market." Marinette rose her eyebrows. What difference would that make?

The prince scanned—well, she assumed he did, she couldn't see his eyes—the crowd, and the girls started fluffing their dresses and fixing their hair. She looked down, not wanting to make accidental eye contact with the Prince.

After a few moments, she heard the announcer bellow, "The Prince has chosen!" She looked up in search of the unlucky girl.

Only to find the Prince pointing at _her._


	5. She Hated Him First: Kalix

**SHE LOOKED AT HIM** with disgust. 

"What the f*ck are you doing, Kim?" She watched as Kim dangled a worm from above his mouth. After exiting the closet, she had found him, worm and all, standing in the middle of the classroom like there wasn't an akuma on the loose.

Kim's eyes flickered to her before refocusing on the worm. "Fulfilling the dare you gave me, what else?" He lowered his hand a bit, leaving only an inch until it touched his mouth. The worm squirmed in his hand, and Alix shuddered. _So that's why he wasn't in the closet. That idiot!_

"You're disgusting. I was _joking_ , you animal!" She snatched the worm from his hand and threw it on the ground. It curled into a ball before slithering away. _Do worms slither?_ she thought mindlessly.

Kim frowned. "You hurt it."

Alix rolled her eyes. "We have bigger problems than an injured worm, Hercules." She started shoving him towards the closet. "Your _girlfriend_ caused another akuma, you big ape! We need to hide!"

Kim mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like "She's not my girlfriend," but she wasn't sure, because she was focused on hauling his big self into the closet.

"Geez, how much do you eat?" she asked. She attempted to use all of her body weight and shove him into the compact space, but failed.

Kim shrugged. "I don't know, how much do I eat?

Alix gritted her teeth. "That was a rhetorical question, you moron."

"And so was the one I just asked."

"You-"

A loud crash came from the other room.

"WHERE ARE YOU, CHLOÉ? COME OUT COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!" the angry akuma shouted. A blast of some sort shattered the windows in the room Alix and Kim were currently in, causing Kim to topple right over and into the closet.

Alix cheered softly and shut the door. The rest of the class sighed in relief.

Kim turned to her in disbelief. "The...the whole class was in here? The whole time?"

Rolling her eyes, Alix said, "Duh! Why else would I shove you in? It's not like I _voluntarily_ saved you, the class nominated me." She regarded him with a snort. "Plus, why would _I_ want to spend an hour or so trapped in a closet with _you_?"

Kim hunched over slightly. "Uh...right. I don't know what I was thinking." He cleared his throat.

Alix narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Right..." Shaking her head, she looked at the rest of the class. They were watching her and Kim like some sort of movie.

"No, keep talking!" Nathanaël said earnestly. "I want to know what comes next!"

Nino chimed in. "Yeah, dudes! Does Alix find out that Kim's been harbouring a crush on her for only God knows how long-"

A smack resonated throughout the storage closet, and all was silent. Then, "Nino, you _idiot_!" Alya looked at Alix apologetically. "Uh, sorry about that. Nino didn't get enough sleep tonight, he doesn't know what he's talking about- do you, _Nino_?" Alya gave him a fake smile.

Nino looked at her strangely. "No, I'm pretty sure I heard Kim correc-"

He shut up when he noticed Alya's fake smile had turned into a glare.

Alix stared at the ground, unsure of what to say. She knew her class was waiting for some sort of response, but...

She set her nerves aside. "Is that...is it true? That you like me?" Her voice faltered on the word _like_.

Kim avoided her gaze. "What does it matter? You don't give two sh*ts about me." Luckily, Madame Bustier was out helping other students find a hiding place from the akuma, so he wouldn't be suffering a detention.

The pink haired girl's head snapped up. "What do you _mean_? Of course I care about you!" she blabbed. "I mean, sure, I hated you first, but then I got to know you and developed a _huge_ crush on you, but of course no one knows about that! Plus, you like _Chloé_..." She realised with horror that she had said all of that out loud.

Kim's eyes brightened, and she heard Nathanaël shout softly, "More!"

"You...really like me?" he asked hesitantly.

There was no turning back now. She didn't want to look like that girl from the _Project Runway_ show Marinette had forced her to watch. "Well, _duh_ , I just said that, didn't I?" She fidgeted with her fingers, looking down.

She felt a blanket of warmth. "I like you too. A _lot_ ," she heard Kim. Smiling, she looked up into his grey eyes. She leaned closer...closer...then-

"Wait, where are Marinette and Adrien?"

"-that's it, Nino, I'm gonna f*cking kill you-"

ML

 _Yeah. I'll probably tweak this a bit later, because I wrote it all in the car on my phone. Then again, I wrote all of these on my phone._


	6. Through Time: Adrienette

**MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG IS** thirteen when she finds a boy with hair the colour of gold sticking gum on her seat.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

He turns. His eyes are an emerald green.

She despises him.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is thirteen when she meets a red fairy that is called a Kwami.

"Call me Tikki," she says.

Marinette is overwhelmed.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is thirteen when she falls onto the most infuriating yet insanely kind boy that Paris calls her partner.

"You've fallen for me already, My Lady."

His hair is the colour of gold. His eyes are an emerald green.

Marinette is thankful.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is thirteen when a black umbrella is given to her.

"I'm so, so sorry," he whispers softly.

Hair the colour of gold. Eyes emerald green.

Adrien Agreste. That's his name.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is thirteen when her heart beats rapidly around the boy who she hated first.

"You're _amazing_ , Marinette."

She falls deeper every day.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is fourteen when her best friend confesses his love for her.

"I can't." Her voice breaks. She runs.

Her partner's silent way of hurting makes her cry.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is fourteen when she tells the boy with a halo of gold on his head how she feels.

His hollow eyes look back at her, empty. "I'm sorry."

She sobs silently in her room.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is fifteen when one of her best friends finds love.

She watches her with Nino.

"I'm happy for you," she says, eyes sad.

Nino's best friend sits on the other side of the room, watching.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is fifteen when a classmate's crush is announced to the class.

He is akumatized.

"Come with me, Marinette."

She forces a smile.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is fifteen when the one who claims to love her is beaten by her partner.

"Stay away from her," he growls.

What confuses her is that she is not wearing a mask.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is sixteen when the boy with eyes like gems begins to notice her.

"Hey, Princess."

She flees because he isn't her Chat.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is sixteen when she begins falling for the boy with the mask.

"Why now?" she asks Tikki.

Her luck does nothing.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is sixteen when an Akuma nearly kills her partner.

Her Lucky Charm is able to save him in time.

She hugs him fiercely.

" _You scared me_."

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is seventeen when the boy under the mask releases his transformation in front of her. _Marinette_ her.

His lips flutter over her eyelids.

"When you're ready." His breath tickles her ear.

Her heart aches.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is seventeen when Adrien Agreste kisses her in front of the whole school.

"...what?" she mutters.

He only smiles and strokes her hair back.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is seventeen when their transformations drop.

" _You_ ," she breathes.

They break down in tears and shower each other with kisses.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is seventeen when they defeat Hawkmoth.

She can see the pain in his eyes.

She gives him time.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is eighteen when a knock is heard on her balcony door.

"Princess," he gasps.

She cries and they kiss.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is nineteen when she is completely absorbed. Absorbed by him.

Shoulders brush. Whispers are said lovingly.

"I love you."

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is twenty-five when she walks down the aisle in white.

His vibrant eyes shine.

Vows are exchanged. Kisses are endless.

"You are now mine."

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is twenty-six when a bundle of joy enters her life.

"Louis," she smiles.

He coos in his father's arms.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is thirty-one when she has her third.

Her husband cries.

"She looks like _her_."

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is sixty when she becomes a grandmother.

She smiles at Nino and Alya from across the room.

"We're finally family," she jokes.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is ninety-one when her lover passes.

"I love you," she chokes.

She is with him the next day.

•

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is eighteen again.

"My Lady."

"Mon Chaton."

They are together for the rest of eternity.


End file.
